In the Way of Chaos
by thisiswhyihatemylife
Summary: AR/AT. Mr. Lancer was not having a good day. Between grading papers, ungrateful students, and arrogant colleagues he was exhausted. It only got worse when he ran over a mysterious teen who just happens to be a human-ghost hybrid fugitive.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

**A/N: The plot bunnies have attacked me viciously. My other DP fanfics are on hiatus as of late. I will update them in due time. Until then, I ****will be focusing on this story. Hope you enjoy it. If not, oh well!**

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"_Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair." _- The Dark Knight, 2008.

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1

Edward Lancer was not having a good day.

The nearly overweight high school English teacher had just locked up his classroom and was now steadying himself uneasily with a stack of graded papers in his arms. The fluttering of the spring cool air surrounding him wasn't helping matters as his students' essays flapped and crinkled underneath his beefy appendages.

It took him longer than he would have liked to reach his station wagon that was parked in his regular space, authorized by staff members only. He dropped his papers in the back seat almost carelessly after fumbling with his car keys to open his vehicle's door.

Between grading papers, dealing with his ungrateful students, and associating with his arrogant colleagues Lancer was understandably exhausted.

And the worst part of the whole thing was he would have to do it all over again tomorrow, starting with a boring, meaningless meeting in the early morning hours.

Putting his car in reverse to pull out of the parking lot, the balding man gave a heavy sigh. He then changed the gear to drive and rode forward to enter into the vacant highway. The Chicago weather seemed to be getting colder and colder; the dark clouds in the sky above were proof of such.

Lancer inwardly prayed that it wouldn't begin to rain, but of course luck wasn't on his side. The slight precipitation fell instantly, coming down on his windshield in droplets. He flicked on the wipers to help clear the dripping water that was on his front.

When a particular wetness showered in his line of vision, the teacher absentmindedly pressed on the gas as the wipers continued their back and forth motion. With the removal of the rain in his sight a moment later, Lancer didn't have time to turn the steering wheel as a dark blur came into view. He pushed harshly on the brake, yet the bump he heard afterwards confirmed that he had hit something.

The screeching of the tires was the only sign that his vehicle had been moving faster than the given speed limit. The wipers were still on and the rain was now pouring heavily but Lancer disregarded all that and removed himself from the safety of his vehicle.

It was difficult to see through the rain; the sun was setting and the sky was becoming shadowy. Lancer blinked his eyes a few times to lessen the amount of drizzle that was striking his face.

A little ways away from him was what looked like a pile of ambiguous garbage. The educator was horrified to discover as he took a step that the so-called garbage was actually a motionless body.

A boy, no older than a teenager, lied on his side in the middle of the road. His raven tresses were plastered on his face as the downpour resumed its destination. Lancer crept closer and bent down to get a better look. The older man's heart was pounding hard on his ribcage. What if the child was hurt badly? What if he was dead?

Lancer stretched his hand out, intent on checking on the boy's vitals. The pained moan from the unknown individual halted his hand and the man couldn't help but breathe an air of relief.

A girlish yelp then escaped the bald man as a strong grip unexpectedly ceased his arm. The boy was staring at the man with a glowing green gaze. Lancer shuddered at the eerie glazed aura reflected in those eyes. But as fast as it had occurred the glow disappeared from the black haired teen's eyes and a sapphire color replaced it.

"A-Are you alright?" Lancer asked shakily, beginning to think that what he saw of the boy's eyes was in fact his own overly active imagination.

"Where am-" the teen cut himself off as he hissed and released the man's arm to clutch at his stomach. Realizing that the unidentified teen was injured, the respected teacher tried to assist him by dragging him upward. The boy slapped away the offered hand and moved in a sitting position by himself.

"For the love of _Forrest Gump_, I need to take you to the hospital! You can be seriously hurt and you'll catch pneumonia if we continue to stay here." The man tried to reason as he once again was rejected from help.

"No...no hospitals...too dangerous..." The raven wheezed and was breathing rather deeply.

Amazingly, the boy was able to stand and walk on his own, albeit a tad sluggishly. Lancer gave the retreating figure a confused expression. He didn't understand what the teen had meant by that. Since when are hospitals dangerous?

The man was just about to follow the raven teen when the other stopped his movements. With a speed the older didn't think could be possible for any human being who had just been hit by a car, the boy then spun around and limped his way to the teacher. He eyed the other contemplatively before voicing his decision.

"I need a ride."

"I still think I should take you to the hospital," Lancer said, opening the passenger door to let the boy inside.

Both males were soaked; their clothes damp and their bodies shivering. The man entered his vehicle through the other side. He shut the door and turned the key in the ignition as the headlights came on and shown brightly threw the low visibility.

"I need you to drive me as close to Amity Park as you can. I'd get there myself but..." the raven started, clearly ignoring the man's concerned statement.

"But you could be hurt...!" The educator began but closed his mouth with a tight line as the black haired teen glared heatedly at him from his seat.

Lancer's light jade eyes pointedly avoided the angry stare and focused his attention on the road in front of him. The drive was silent and the street beneath the car was slippery. Not surprisingly the rain transformed into hailstones, the frozen rain encasing them in an industrial rendition of a winter wonderland.

Amity Park was at least a hundred miles away from Chicago and due to the unanticipated weather, Lancer felt it ridiculous to be driving through such a disorganized state. He also was very tried and just wanted to go home to rest. He watched the boy in the corner of his eye; the other was slumped in his seat and was looking outwardly thrashed.

Without taking his eyes away from the road, the man stated, "At least let me get you some warm clothes. My apartment isn't too far from here."

"Fine." The boy sounded defeated and his voice was barely above a whisper.

Lancer nodded his head to himself, satisifed with the teen's compliance. Swerving his car to merge into the right lane, the teacher expertly maneuvered his vehicle to pass the various warehouses and family businesses. Edward lived in a low income community, structures of steel looking apartments and garages on each cluttered lawn.

Even though it wasn't the best neighborhood to live in, it was relatively a clean area and the people were friendly enough.

It took another twenty minutes to reach his establishment. By then, the hail and rainwater had diminished and there was only a slight sprinkle. As he drove to the curb to park his wagon, the man twisted in his seat to look at the younger boy.

"I never asked you your name." Lancer gave a comforting smile.

"It's Danny."

The raven tilted his head to the side, his messy locks resting on the side window. The car ended its motor functions as a hairy hand detached the key and turned off the vehicle. Removing his seat belt from his protruding torso, the teacher made a disbelieving gasp as the blue eyed teen slouched lower still and fell unconscious.

Lancer hurriedly exited his car and jogged to the other side to open the door. Danny collapsed to his right; his body would have probably descended to the darkened asphalt if a certain bald man hadn't held him up. Lancer grasped the younger male from his back and rose him in his arms.

Using his large foot to close the car door, Lancer then carried the unresponsive boy toward his front door while silently thanking any deity that he was housed downstairs. His fingertips lightly ran over the teen's lower back and winced when he felt a bulge through the boy's white T-shirt.

Edward almost contemplated taking the boy to the emergency room regardless; the rain had stopped after all. Even so, the temperature of the winds seemed to drop drastically. The cool breeze shifted into a freezing blow.

Shaking his head to sort out his muddled thoughts, the heavy educator decided that the teen was his responsibility. He would take care of him for the night, and if the teen's condition happened to become worse he would call in for a substitute and take the boy to the ER.

Right as Lancer clumsily rummaged through his back pocket to retrieve his house key, a pair of sinister crimson eyes witnessed the activity of the duo a few feet away. A malicious smile emerged from the malevolence figure in the distance and an evil chuckled escaped smirking lips.

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**First chapter is complete. Yay me! What'd you think? It sucked? Oh, okay.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

**A/N: Thanks sincerely to my readers and their reviews, favorites, and/or story alerts. It gives me a giddy rush, yes it does! I meant to have this out last week, but I had to deal with family problems. It's all good now, though!**

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2

The first thing that registered in young Danny Fenton's mind as he instinctively clung to the unexpected warmth that was surrounding his body was he was aching all over. A headache had begun to form in his temples; the incessant throbbing making him that much more tired and nauseous.

The throbs in his head started to increase when vague memories appeared behind his closed eyelids like a slideshow. He could recall one of the agents whom had been assigned to watch him had led him away from _that _place and helped him to escape.

The man – Agent T, if his memory served – had been real vigilant when it came to avoiding any and all of the so-called doctors, agents, and scientists that had been around the institute.

Danny remembered how Agent T had had to deactivate the security systems so that the two of them wouldn't be detected through various means. Agent T had then persuaded one of the guards on duty to release him from his shift. He had told the other that he had to deliver an unknown shipment of boxes to another location.

Driving one of the facility's trucks away after the approval from the guard, the man had relaxed his tense shoulders and checked in on his charge. The black haired teen had skillfully hid himself between the craters and boxes that were in the back of the truck.

Danny would have definitely been more of a help for the man if it hadn't been for those 'people' drugging him the day before. Whatever they had injected into his bloodstream was short circuiting his chemical makeup.

Everything that had happened afterwards was a blur. He didn't know where Agent T was or whether the man was okay. Nor did he know how he had ended up on the highway. All he could remember was the drizzle, the cold, the pain, and some balding man...

The raven's eyes snapped open and he sat up rather quickly, his body protesting the movement. The warmth that he had been feeling before was in fact a blanket. Danny had been lying on a cushioned couch in a small yet clean living room.

In his sight in front of him was hardwood floors, a forty-six inch flat screen television and stand, and a glass table in front of the sofa with a woven fabric rug underneath it. The walls were of a simple white color; there were framed credentials and what looked like various awards hanging up. Other than all that, the walls were bare. It seemed cozy. Nice, even.

At least, that would have been the case if Danny's heart wouldn't have been racing. He had no idea where he was. His mind was in shambles, and he felt as though his body was on autopilot. When being in such dire circumstances as the teen had been in, one tends to react first and ask questions later.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Danny turned his head to the side to see the same man from the highway giving him a half smile while reclining in an armchair to the right. The raven's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline at the concern in the man's voice. Had the dude been watching him this whole time?

"Where am I?" The boy asked instead of answering, giving the older male a suspicious glance.

"You're in my apartment. Remember when I told you I would give you some clothes?" Danny shook his head in the negative. "Are you in any pain then?"

"Y-Yeah. Why is this?"

The man openly gaped at the straight forward response and question. Inwardly, the blue eyed teen had an idea of what had transpired, but had wanted to hear it from the other's mouth. He still was on his guard after all; he didn't know whether or not he should trust this guy. The overweight educator actually had a red tint to his cheeks as he spoke.

"I may have, um, ran into you with my car. I'm really, really sorry! It had just been such a long day. I was tired and it was raining and you just popped out of no where! I admit, I might have been speeding, but..." The older male stopped his tirade when he found the teen watching him with an obvious amusement in his eyes.

"I think I understand." Danny said.

"Sorry," the man stated sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "I tend to ramble in situations like this."

The raven began to relax, sensing that this eccentric male meant him no harm. "Duly noted. So, I'm in your apartment but I don't know your name."

The older male smiled again. "The name's Edward Lancer."

"Funny, I would have pegged you as an Andrew." Danny tried to give the other a smile in return but that soon turned into a pained grimace. "Do...do you have any pain medication?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Hold on." Lancer jumped from his chair and swiftly sauntered away from the younger male and disappeared into the hallway.

Danny didn't have to wait very long for the man to rush back to him. The raven moved his position on the couch so that he was sitting up and his feet were on the floor. Lancer then came to stand in front of him and handed him three pills and a glass of water.

"Thanks," was all he said before he swallowed the pills and gulped down the liquid.

"Did you need anything else, Danny?" The educator asked quietly. Fenton looked startled for a moment because this man knew his name. He then shrugged inwardly, his memory had been and was still hazy. He concluded that he had probably told the guy at some point.

"I'm fine for now. You're just going to have to trust me when I say I'm a fast healer." _Amazingly so._

Lancer nodded, and sat back down in his chair. The two males sat in silence, both not knowing how to react to the other. Edward contemplated turning on the TV but thought against it otherwise as he watched the young man on his couch stared unseeingly ahead of him. The boy was interesting to say the least, the high school teacher couldn't help but think. Most teenagers, he felt after all, were a bit more active than he was being at the moment.

Danny had a whole other thought process. Even though he wasn't certain about a lot of things, he felt that he was safe. The raven knew, however, that he could not let his guard down. There was a very good chance that _they _would figure out where he was and come to take him back. Back to them, back to _him._

The teen unconsciously shivered. He wasn't sure if the shaking came from the chilling thoughts of his or from the damp clothes he was wearing. Speaking of clothes...

"You said something about clothes..."

"Uh huh," Lancer mumbled, pulling out a newspaper that seemed to appear from existence, "they're on top of the chest next to the couch. I also made some stew in the kitchen, if you want some."

True to what the man had said, there were folded articles of shirts (way too long for the teen), jeans, socks, and boxers. Danny said another thanks and asked to know where the bathroom was so he could change.

* * *

Lancer helped the boy to retrieve his cooked food by pointing out where certain plates and utensils were stored. Danny had decided that he liked the man and his modest apartment. The two had then sat back down in the living room and had become better acquainted. The man told Danny that he was an English teacher, that he wasn't married, and he had a love for all things literature.

Danny had been more evasive with his tales. He had answered all the man's curious questions, but he had kept out most of his past. This had left a few blanks in his stories; nevertheless, Edward found himself grinning right along with the mysterious young man when the younger spoke fondly about his childhood and family.

"Your parents must be worried about you," the teacher divulged after thay had talked for awhile. Danny's smile slid right off his face, and sadness entered those usually gentle eyes. Lancer thought the sudden shift in attitude was based on the boy's own worry for his parents, "it wouldn't be such a bad idea to give them a call so that they at least know you are okay."

Danny fidgeted where he was seated, feeling that the conversation was headed toward dangerous grounds. He absentmindedly played with the spoon from his soup bowl as he said, "That...that won't be necessary, sir."

Lancer looked bewildered. "What? Why not?"

"My parents...they're...dead."

The man was taken aback from the admittance. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Danny. You must miss them a lot."

Lancer was surprised to see as the teen tilted his head that there were tears in his eyes; his glassy cerulean orbs revealing swirling emotions. Danny had to blink his eyes a couple of times to prevent the tears from falling. What was so touching with the whole scene was that the boy had the sweetest smile lifting his lips.

"I do miss them..._so _much, but..."

"But what?"

A whole different type of mirth settled in Danny's eyes. "You apologize too much, Mr. Lancer."

An anxious chuckle was the response to that. And so, well into the night, the gentlemen again conversed. It was quite refreshing for the older man; he had never talked with some stranger for such a long period of time like before. Most people were quick to write him off because they viewed him as some bumbling fool. Danny didn't act that way with him, though. He found himself intrigued with this resourceful child.

As the clock above the TV struck a quarter past midnight, Lancer stood up and stretched his arms after sitting in the same place for so many hours.

"I'm going to head off to bed now," the English teacher said to the now sleepy looking Danny, "I can take you to Amity Park after work tomorrow. You don't mind staying here until then, do you?"

Danny shook his head before lying back down, his head nuzzling the sofa's pillows in earnest. "No, that will be alright. Thanks for everything, Mr. Lancer."

The next morning, found the older man in front of his full length mirror in his bedroom. He brought his hands to his sides once he had successfully tightened his tie, identical green eyes gazing right back at him from the other side. Giving himself a quick smile, he rushed from his room and grabbed his essentials before heading to his front door.

He gave the slumbering black haired teen a glance as he opened the door to reach the outside. The man could admit to himself that he felt uneasy leaving this boy that he had just met not even twenty-four hours ago alone in his apartment. He immediately scoffed at the idea and exited his home with this thought in mind, _How much trouble can a teenager get into?_

If only he knew.

xxx

Lancer was still unaware of the figure that had been watching them. He also hadn't noticed as more than two sets of eyes had landed to rest on the man's front door.

xxx

The sun's brightness that seeped in through the living room's windows creating an illuminated glare was what woke up Danny as he stood up and stifled a yawn with his hand. The clock now read that it was a little after ten in the morning. The teen figured that Lancer had already left for his job.

The raven strolled over to the other side of the room where the hardwood floor met the kitchen's linoleum. As he wandered into the kitchen and rummaged in the drawers and cabinets in search of some breakfast, his upper body began to twitch. Although he was still a bit fatigued, the raven couldn't understand what was wrong with him. _Maybe it has something to do with what 'they' gave me. _

His musings were proven to be a mistake when a gust of blue air escaped his gasping lips. Danny's eyes widened and he spun around as a screeching noise from the front of the apartment reached his ears. The teen maneuvered his body in his known defensive stance and was prepared as the front door burst open.

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An exhausted Lancer closed his classroom door before leaning his head against it, mentally peeved that the day was only half over. Hearing multiple voices of his condescending co-workers, the man removed himself and followed the others' chatters.

He entered the staff lounge several seconds later and made his way across the room; he expertly ignored the other adults' disdainful stares and was about to grasp the handle of the school's fridge when one of the reporters on the television hooked up in the corner verbalized in a monotone voice.

_"...In other news, the Amity Park Police as well as the Illinois State Police have issued a warrant of arrest against fourteen year old Daniel Fenton. The teen had been taken into police custody weeks before after becoming the prime suspect in the murder of his family but has since disappeared from the area."_ A photo of a bright, smiling Danny appeared on the screen as the male reporter continued, "_The police believe the boy is armed and dangerous, so if you have any information regarding his whereabouts please contact..."_

Lancer didn't even finish listening to the rest of the report for he had dashed out of the lounge. His colleagues had confused expressions on their faces as their eyes stared at the back and forth motion of the room's entrance.

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**Some action happening next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

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3

Lancer wasn't exactly sure what had possessed him to run out of the staff lounge the way he had. He guessed a part of it had to do with the shock of seeing his presumably innocent house guest on the news, as a murder suspect on the run from the police and that was now currently occupying _his _apartment building.

Rampant questions swarmed in his head as he entered his vehicle and drove away from the high school building. With the speedometer flicking above seventy in a fifty-five mile an hour stretch of road he was traveling on, the English teacher just hoped that he wouldn't hit any more mysterious surprises…or get pulled over by an officer to receive a ticket.

xxx

Danny barely missed the ectoplasmic beam of light in the shape of a hammer that was clearly meant for him as he had to bend down on his left knee and tilt to the side in the last couple of seconds to avoid the hit.

The apartment's cement made drywall behind said teen had a gigantic shape hole as a result. Danny winced as he could see the damage done from the outside because of the large gap, his opponent laughing at his now tiring expense.

The black haired boy narrowed his eyes at the other's amusement and cruelty. The floating figure several feet above him was engaged, out to injure the young teen some more. There was no way he was going to be bested by this vampire looking wannabe!

xxx

The overweight educator made an annoyed face at his predicament; he was on the highway that had stopped all oncoming vehicles on account of a car accident that was a couple of miles from where he was waiting. He had already been sitting there for the last ten minutes or so and Lancer was getting anxious, not to mention that he had left the school grounds without so much as calling in for a substitute.

For all that was _Harry Potter, _how could this day get any more frustrating?

xxx

Darn it! He was getting bested by the vampire looking wannabe! Fenton appeared as though he had been caught in a whirlwind and had somehow survived its devastating affects. Sweat poured from his forehead and face from the exertion he had had to build while fighting off the ghostly foe. The borrowed clothes from Lancer were sliced and ripped in various places and Danny had a difficult time just hanging on as blackness invaded his vision.

Because of his exhaustion, Danny reacted belatedly as his opponent rushed in flight to push him down to the floor and shock him with a pinkish colored electricity through the tips of her fingers. The blue eyed teen screamed in pain and agony as the currency fluctuated throughout his body. She was about to have another go at him, but a surprised gasp halted her closed fist mid air.

xxx

Edward sighed in relief as his apartment complex got closer and closer to him in view after having to sit in traffic for fifteen minutes. That relief morphed into a horrified realization as he saw that his front door was open and...was that a hole on the side of his outer wall?

He parked his station wagon across the street from his home since this was one of those days that inconsiderate people decided to park in other residents' parking spaces. The literary junkie hurriedly exited from his car and took long strides to reach the front of his apartment. What he saw as he came to his door was much to be desired.

His entire living room was a disaster area - the walls either had human shaped dents or assorted holes in them, the couch was turned over on its side, his armchair destroyed with bits of leather and cotton stuffing lying about, his glass table in pieces, and the TV was smashed and electric flares were sparkling from inside it.

The sight that had him baffled however was the woman in the middle of his damaged living room in the process of punching his raven haired house guest that was on his back on the hardwood floor. He gasped as the redheaded beauty's fist went downward only for her to stop her movements and look straight at him.

Lancer jumped as those green eyes turned red ones landed on his form. Danny took his opponent's momentary distraction for what it was and summoned all his energy to release a ghost ray from his palm. The blast was directed toward the ceiling and bounced off of it to smack the woman squarely in the face.

With a shriek, the woman grasped her cheek and stumbled away from the down teen. He then thanked the skies above that he was even able to do what he had with the way his body had been responding as of late. Rising himself up with a wounded hiss, Danny faced his unwilling savior, he could see the fear and incomprehension in the older's eyes.

"We need to leave now." Danny stated seriously as he walked passed the stunned man to arrive at the front of the room.

"Danny..."

The teen spun around and those glowing green of his eyes made themselves known briefly. "Look, Mr. Lancer, I know you're scared and have a lot of questions for me. I promise I'll answer all of them when I get a chance, but if you value your life - which I'm sure you do - you will get in your car and get us the heck out of dodge."

Lancer couldn't tell you what had made him nod his head as both he and the boy left his apartment. It was as though Danny had a powerful control over him. And oh, was the man terrified! He hated to admit that most of his fear came from the teen whom he had no knowledge about nor knew what he was capable of.

The two had just reached the older male's vehicle when a blast from inside of Lancer's home flew through speed and shattered the man's driver's window.

"Get in the car!" The teen shouted as he saw that Lancer froze his stance because of the attack.

Snapping out of his stupor, the high school teacher opened his car door and shut it harshly as he sat down in the driver's seat. His hands were shaking so badly that he fumbled as he tried to insert the car keys into the ignition. Danny rolled his eyes and grunted as he pushed the man's hand away and did the deed himself.

Another blast sounded in the back of them as the ectoplasmic flash struck the bumper. Lancer let out a petrified shriek right as the vehicle roared to life. Danny had to tell the scared man to pay attention; the woman from his living room was soaring through the air in their direction.

Pressing on the gas, the man signaled to the left to steady his car onto the street. The black haired teen was seemingly wheezing and kept darting his eyes all over the place as though he were searching for something. When they reached an intersection with a traffic signal, Lancer was about to push on the brake to evade running a red light after the light had turned yellow beforehand.

"Floor it," said the alert looking boy.

"But-"

"FLOOR IT!" And somehow Danny was able to use his own feet to stomp on Lancer's so that the car continue its fast pace. Right as the light turned red, another vehicle coming from the opposite way had to swerve around to avoid a collision with the station wagon as it zoomed through the intersection. The other driver honked his horn in anger as Lancer's car sped off into the distance.

* * *

Once the duo were in the clear twenty-two miles later, Lancer twisted in his seat and halfheartedly glared at the boy next to him. What had happened on the road was probably one of the most frightening experiences he had in his life.

"Why did you do that, Danny? You could have gotten us both killed!"

Danny clicked his tongue. "Number one, I was trying to get us as far way from that creep as possible. And number two, you need to watch the road before you _do_ get us killed."

Lancer's hardened eyes softened slowly as he stared at the teen who looked worse than he did when the man had ran him over. _I need to keep a level head, _the older man thought to himself as rationally as he could. He still didn't know what exactly was going on when it came to the circumstance that pertain to Danny. But the boy did say that he would explain himself when he could. Now was as good a chance as any.

Bringing his eyes back to the highway, the man started. "We shouldn't fight. I'll try to...listen to you."_ And trust you,_ he mentally added. He chuckled which lacked its usual humor. "It's just everything has been sprung up on me and I just met you."

"I know. I'm sorry I got snappy at you." Danny ran his hand through his dark locks listlessly.

"I guess it's alright, but Danny, I need you to tell me what's going on. Who was that crazy lady anyway?"

Before the teen got a chance to open his mouth to answer a blue wisp came from his lips; abruptly, a power induced fist phased through the car's roof and grabbed onto the teacher's shoulder. Lancer screamed in fright while his vehicle veered awfully close to the curb. The black haired boy took control of the steering wheel with one of his hands and called upon as much spiritual energy as he could with the other but to no avail.

Still keeping his one hand on the wheel, Danny used his right to open the glove compartment to dig through all the papers inside. He felt something metal like in the back of the space and clutched it desperately. He took it out and looked at what he had in surprise. It was the end of a nutcraker. _Weird. _

Shrugging inwardly, the boy used the sharp end to poke the ghostly fingers, not enough to stab about enough to hurt. The jab had helped to loosen the hold the sinister being had on the man. Danny tried to remove the hand from the teacher but instead that same hand grabbed his collar and hoisted him up to bang into the car's interior roof.

Lancer was unrelenting with his screams and it didn't help any that Danny was seeing double and that the car had lost control again. The hand had elongated itself and as the teen looked upward he could see the redhead's flashing crimson eyes, the wicked gleam in those orbs all the more apparent.

Using both of her arms, the ghost woman grabbed onto Danny's hair at his roots. The mysterious boy flinched at the stinging pain but otherwise kept quiet. She then pulled his head through the roof via intangibility and smirked at him.

"Did you honestly think you could get away from us, Danny?" She asked rhetorically.

"Lancer," Danny said through clenched teeth, "take control of the car and keep driving."

"Don't worry, sugar, I'll take care of pudgy just as soon as I take care of you." It was like she was trying to pull his whole body through the vehicle.

"Why didn't you just go intangible and grab me through the car then, _Spectra_?" The boy asked in harsh breaths.

The redheaded entity laughed. "Because destruction is much more fun!"

Edward, who had been watching them through his side window, had gotten himself composed and was now wracking his brain with anything he could think of to help the poor boy. Maybe if he was able to throw her off...

Right before she was able to take off with the boy, Lancer turned his wheel sharply to the right so that the vehicle ended up in the middle of the highway. Spectra yelped, discharging Danny from her hands as she rolled painfully down the car's back window. She had to go intangible to avoid hitting the wagon's side.

The momentum of her fall was so hasty that Spectra found herself airborne and was unable to fly back; she was phasing through each vehicle that was on the roadway uncontrollably. She then disappeared, at least for the time being.

The educator at the wheel had focused all his attention on the spectacle outside that he wasn't aware of the Food 4 Less truck that was headed right for them. Danny had always thought that in this type of situation his young life would flash quickly before his eyes. None of that happened, though. All he could see was his own breath coming through and Lancer's widened eyes as he too realized that they were about to die.

Lancer shut his eyes, expecting the inevitable when a strange sensation settled from the pit of his stomach all the way to the base of his spine. The feeling was similar to when his feet or arms fell asleep when he had been on them for hours except it was happening all over his body.

He bravely peeked one eye open and what he witnessed astounded him. Danny was holding onto him as well as the car; he and Danny along with the station wagon were actually see-through, and yet Lancer could spot them easily. The raven was pulling all of his strength from his core, and he knew that he and the older male had been blessed from above. Either that, or the black haired boy just got lucky.

The feel of the truck passing through their intangible bodies was something Lancer couldn't possible describe accurately. All he knew was it wasn't a pleasant feeling, more like the way your stomach drops when you are spiraling down a rollercoaster.

Danny, Lancer, and the vehicle came back naturally to the visible eye once they were safely ahead of the larger vehicle. The blue eyed teen's chest heaved severely when he let go of Lancer; the boy tried to slow his beating heart and the twinge in his sore body while he willed his mind to not pass out.

_"Thelma and Louise _in Heaven." Lancer whispered to himself in awe.

* * *

**Cool .: **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

**A/N: This is a re-post. I had actually had this chapter out a few weeks ago, but was immensely dissatisfied with it so I rewrote pretty much everything. Sorry for the inconvenient doing; it just had to be done, my faithful readers…**

* * *

4

As he held a borrowed cell phone near his ear to connect with his school's automated voice system, Lancer gave a quick glance through the gas station market's front window to peer at the teenager that was lethargically sagged low in the passenger seat of his station wagon.

After the initial adrenaline rush with the psychotic ghostly lady, the dangerous speed chase, and the phasing incident through a massive truck to avoid certain death, the two males had driven off the main highway and had entered the Illinois Route 38.

The high school teacher had wanted to shout questions nonstop concerning Danny's ethereal amount of 'power' and other such phenomena, but refrained himself and had kept quiet when he saw how fatigued the boy had looked. Thus, the pair had rode in companionable silence for the next forty-five minutes and ultimately made a pit stop at the aforementioned gas station in the city of Naperville due to the man's hunger and the child's wariness.

Lancer flipped the cell closed after the familiar female's computerized voice confirmed that the older man had a sub for the rest of his classes. He handed the cellular device back to the polite woman whom had loaned it to him, and made his way through the aisles while thoughtlessly grabbing two waters and some Kit Kat bars.

He then walked to stand in front of the cashier to have his items paid for. The entrance of the market made a '_ding'_ sound as he left the store minutes later and headed to his parked wagon a little ways away. When he saw that the passenger car door was ajar, the school teacher panicked and nearly dropped his bag. He stepped to the side of his vehicle and saw to his relief Danny crouching down, gripping his stomach. The bald man winced in sympathy at the retching sounds the teen was making.

Danny wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up at the man guiltily. "Sorry," he muttered.

Lancer shifted his brown bag in his right arm as he helped the raven haired teen to his feet. "It's okay. Now you're the one apologizing too much."

Edward opened and held the door for the blue eyed boy as Danny lowered his body to be seated. Once the teen was secured with his seat belt, the older male locked the vehicle's right side door and came to place himself in the driver's seat. He put the grocery bag next to Danny and took out one of the waters to give to the younger boy.

"Here. Drink this."

Danny didn't questioned the command and did what was told of him as he uncapped the top of the water and drank from it hungrily. Lancer pulled away from the gas station's parking lot and signaled to enter into the _Illinois 38 West _state road toward Amity Park. Lancer could have cried in joy when he saw a sign that read that Amity Park was only about forty-seven miles ahead.

"You feeling any better?" The man asked his younger company while he continued to drive.

"Yeah," the teen said with a cough, putting his water in a cup holder. "just tired, I guess. Thanks. Most people wouldn't do what you've done for me."

Lancer wasn't sure whether Danny had meant that as a compliment or as a warning. Either way, the educator was at the edge of his seat (figuratively speaking), and was afraid to say or think about anything else.

It was nearing the middle of the noon day and already Lancer felt as though he had lived double his lifetime. The cars in front of them began to slow; pretty soon the highway was in traffic and the majority of the cars were stopped, except the far left lane where the vehicles were moving at a slightly faster pace.

"Go ahead and ask me." The black haired teen suddenly voiced while looking out the car window.

"What?" The older blinked rather dumbly, still keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.

Danny sighed and turned around to the face the man. "I told you I'd..." the boy covered his mouth to cough again and thought he was going to vomit once more, but the feeling passed, "answer any of your questions. Just...please ask them one at a time. I'm sort of dizzy right now."

At first, it seemed like Lancer wasn't going to ask anything at all. He was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Danny actually felt nervous as he recognized the inner struggle the English teacher was having with himself over the whole situation. Finally, after a long pause, he muttered rather calmly,

"How...how were you able to do what you...did, as far as the truck? Is it some sort of magic trick or something?"

The teen's brows furrowed as he thought about how he could properly answer the question. "I'm...not sure I know where to start."

"The beginning would do nicely."

Danny had wanted to give the man a glare at that comment, but it took too much effort on his part. Couldn't the man see that this was difficult for him as it was without Lancer making it worse? _I would really love to be sleeping in a nice, warm bed right now..._

Mentally preparing himself for the explanation, the teen shut his eyes for a moment before reopening them and staring straight ahead, his eyes landing on the glove compartment. "Have you ever heard of a halfa?"

"Can't say that I have..."

"Well, a halfa by definition is a half human, half ghost hybrid. My...parents," the teen hesitated with the last word, his voice quivering, "were leading supernatural experts and scientists. Due to an...accident from one of their inventions, my DNA got mixed up with this stuff called ectoplasm, causing..." Danny stopped mid sentence when he saw all the color drain from the now panic stricken man's face, "Are you alright, Mr. Lancer?"

"Y-You're a..._ghost..._!"

"A half ghost." Danny corrected him. "I'm one of the only two in existence."

"And that woman that was chasing us is a...halfa too?"

"No," Danny crossed his arms over his chest, "she's a real ghost, a crazy one at that. There's going to be a lot more of them."

"THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE!" The man screamed leaning forward, his breathing heavy. He was on the verge of hyperventilation.

By now, the road had cleared and the vehicles that were around were traveling at the maximum speed limit. Lancer was about twenty over the limit. The fourteen year old saw that the older was most likely having a panic attack. The prospect of ghosts and half ghosts could overwhelm even the bravest of men.

"Lancer, calm down. You're speeding..."

Easing his foot off the gas slowly, the overweight educator took a deep breath and let it out through his mouth. In his mind, he went back to his own childhood - the times when he would cower underneath his blankets in bed and peek over them to gaze into his closet to see whether or not the gray, scary monster was actually still there.

He reminisced on how his parents would come into his bedroom after he screamed his little lungs out and comfort him, to reassure the small boy that there was no such things as ghosts or monsters and that he was overreacting. How was he supposed to believe all that now when the proof was right there in front of him?

"Why will there be more...ghosts?" Lancer asked, composing himself as much as possible.

Danny's eyes moved from one place to another, pointedly avoiding the teacher's face. "Because they're after me."

The man thought back to the news report that was on that morning and swallowed the thick saliva that clumped in his throat. "Does this have anything to do with your parents'...death?" He whispered.

Danny's head snapped to the left hastily to stare incredulously at the older male. "What do you know about my parents?"

Edward was afraid to look back at the teen, half expecting to see the ghostly green gaze of the boy's eyes. Watching him in the corner of his eye, the man was surprised to find that Danny didn't appear upset but rather...fearful? What was that all about?

Lancer didn't have time to think on the matter or questioned it because before he got the chance to, a resounding noise on the passenger side of the vehicle startled the both of them. The station wagon then dragged down on its right side; the teen lowered the window down to peer over the side of the car to check.

_...the white truck Agent T was maneuvering stopped abruptly, settling on the grassy path of the curb. The dark haired man driving had said something about the truck having a flat tire. He told Danny to remove himself from the vehicle and make a run for it. The teen, who had been in the passenger seat by that time, unclipped his seat belt and opened the door to jump out..._

"You have a flat tire, Mr. Lancer."

The high school teacher changed lanes and leisurely pulled his vehicle in the clearing near an exit sign. He turn off the car and gave a confused look at the younger, the other's glazed over orbs giving him an uneasy feeling. Lancer got out of the wagon in search of a spare tire. Danny remained in his seat, some of his forgotten memories emerging to the surface.

xxx

_The tall trees and green vegetation surrounding them could only be described as an unwanted covering, trying to hide them from the sunshine Danny so desperately wanted to see and feel. He and Agent T had been on the highway for hours, they were headed to the Illinois state border. The black haired teen knew that if he wanted to be safe from all those that wanted to hurt him - to be away from one major fruitloop - he had to go to Amity Park, reunite with his friends, find an anecdote for the drug in his system, and unfortunately expose his ghostly side to the media._

_The Wisconsin forest was seemingly breezing past them as the truck they were in was going faster than a larger vehicle should be traveling on the highway. Danny's eyes then widened when the recognizable blue gust left the reluctant hero's mouth. A colored blast flashed on the side of the truck, and Agent T turned the wheel to try and steady the vehicle. The tires screeched; and with that, the gears locked and the truck did a one-eighty spin as more blasts appeared from behind._

_Fenton clutched the door's interior handle in fright as the truck righted itself in driving forward. The agent had a hard time gaining back control, the pain of keeping a hold on the steering wheel written all over his sweat drenched face. A roar and squawk was heard from the outside; Danny covered his ears to block out the shrieking calls._

_"You okay there, kid?" Agent T asked before moving the vehicle into the left lane. The teen nodded his head._

_When a loud _'pop'_ thudded the front of the exterior of the truck, the older man turned back to the lane he had been to previously; the white truck Agent T was maneuvering stopped abruptly, settling on the grassy path of the curb. The dark haired man driving had said something about the truck having a flat tire. He told Danny to remove himself from the vehicle and make a run for it. The teen, who had been in the passenger seat by that time, unclipped his seat belt and opened the door to jump out._

_The boy tripped over his own feet in his haste but was fast in righting his body upward to run away from the scene. Behind him, he heard the agent whom had helped him to escape from that horrible place speed away. He was tempted not to look back but curiosity got the better of him was he looked over his shoulder to see what was happening. Danny watched in horror as a particular blast made the bottom of the truck catch on fire and made the vehicle flip on its side._

xxx

Danny gaped down toward his mouth to see a blue wisp come out of it. Lancer was in the back of his station wagon, rummaging through his school materials that were situated in his back seat.

"Lancer..." the dark haired teen whispered.

Said man flinched at the address of his name. The way the teen had muttered it was enough to make the chills in his spine travel all over his body.

"Y-Yes, Danny?"

"We've got company."

* * *

**A cliffhanger. Oh, joy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

* * *

5

Inside a steel corporate building in the outskirts five miles away from Amity Park, a tall and lanky man was peering at the freshly sunny outside through his office window. Normally, the man, Vlad Masters would enjoy such a serene looking atmosphere, but currently his face was in a scowl and his voice had an angry tint to it.

He had a cordless phone attached to his right ear, the other person on the other line growing victim to his various threats and screams. When said person happened to disagree with what ever Vlad had mentioned beforehand, the man spun around from the window to face the inner workings of his large space.

Vlad's voice rose, but not enough to cause alarm, just intimidation. "Look, I don't care how you get it done - just have that paperwork I sent you on my desk and FINISHED by tonight."

Vlad then took the necessary steps to reach his desk and slammed down the receiver harshly onto its cradle. Slowly, he sat himself down on his cushioned seat to calm his boiling blood. He hated when he lost control like that, it always made him feel like less of a man and a businessman.

Just as he was combing his white hair by means of his fingers to put some strands back in place, the intercom on his desk first went through static before a female voice said, "Mr. Masters, two of your agents are here to see you. They say it's important."

The billionaire pushed the black button that was connected to the intercom's machinery. "Can't it wait?"

The woman responded, "It's Agent O and Agent P. They say they have caught _someone_ of your interest."

A sadistic smirk suddenly appeared on the man's face as his intelligent brain caught the hint. "Oh, I see. Then by all means, send them in." Vlad released the button and proceeded to stand and greet his new arrivals.

Not even a minute later, two bulky figures entered his office, dragging a third person by their underarms. Both Agent O and P had smug looks on their faces as they roughly guided the other occupant onto the chair that was in front of Vlad Master's desk. The other two then took a step back to stand beside their ex-cohort.

The dark haired man across from Masters had a few litters of cuts and bruises on his face and exposed arms. Yet, the man had a defiance in his eyes that Vlad couldn't help but be amused by. He then chuckled darkly as the other gave him a fierce glare.

"Ah, Agent T, it is wonderful to see you yet again." Vlad bent down to stare eye to eye with the now identified Agent T. "You don't look any worse for the ware. I assume you had a pleasant trip?"

"When it comes to you, nothing's pleasant." Agent T spat before flinching when Agent P grasped his shoulder and squeezed.

Vlad let the comment slide and instead narrowed his icy blue eyes at the man. "So, you thought you could get away with kidnapping Daniel and trying to take him away from me, huh? You thought you were actually smart enough to accomplish this?"

"I didn't kidnap him, I saved him...from you! You're not normal, man. You're crazy."

Vlad chuckled and said in mock hurtfulness. "Now, how could you say such cruel things to me? I'm only looking out for the boy's well being. I am his godfather, after all."

The agent snorted incredulously. "Yeah, some godfather. Tell me, what sane godfather imprisons and tortures his own godchild?"

Vlad looked at his fingernails in disinterest as he answered. "Things would have been much easier on all of us if Daniel had just agreed to my terms. Besides, I'll get him back. It's only a matter of time." Glancing up, the white haired man focused his attention on the other two. "Take him to the dungeon below. Show him what it means to double cross Vlad Masters."

Agent P and his partner Agent O smirked to themselves and grabbed each side of Agent T's shoulders as they hauled him away to exit the office. The bruised agent thrashed and wiggled in their grip, but he was unfortunately too weak to fight. Before he left the confines of the office, Agent T yelled a last time.

"Leave that poor kid alone! You hear me, Masters? Leave him alone!"

The door shut with a soft click; Vlad went back to sitting down and opened a folder that was settled on his desk. The man let out an involuntary sigh as he thought of all the wasted potential he had at his disposal. Those three hadn't been the 'T.O.P.' agents he had for nothing.

"It's a shame really," the man said to himself as he started filling paperwork, "he could have been a great agent."

* * *

"We've got company."

Lancer shut his eyes tightly, trying unsuccessfully to will away the uncontrollable shaking that was overwhelming his body. The man knew it wasn't healthy to have this many scares and stresses on his body in less than three hours time.

With a gulp and leaning upward to stand right next to the outside of his car, the teacher said frighteningly. "T-Then, what do we d-do? I can't find a spare tire. Could you...maybe...fight them off?"

Danny slowly shook his head. "I can't right now. Too tired. I'm losing a lot of energy."

"Holy, _Chamber of Secrets, _they're gonna get us, aren't they?"

Honking coming from the left side of the teen snapped his head in that direction. The movement of the cars on the highway had slowed down once again. One of the vehicles had barricaded its way to merge onto the carpool lane but had almost hit another car in its passing. Danny gave a half relieved smile as a sudden thought morphed into his head.

"No, they're not," the exhausted boy said to himself before raising his voice louder to speak to Lancer, "go flag one of those cars down. We're going to have to ditch your station wagon."

"I don't want to leave my baby here." The older male practically whined as he shut his vehicle's door. "And wouldn't it be dangerous to walk right in the middle of traffic like that?"

Danny twisted his head around to peer at the man with a doubtful appearance. "It's either that, or kiss your life goodbye, courtesy of the ghosts on our 'hides."

Lancer wanted to sigh, but refrained from doing so. He walked to the edge of the right lane and stuck his thumb out to show that he needed a ride. Danny watched him for a few seconds before grabbing the waters and brown bag the older male had, and languidly removing his body from the wagon.

The black haired teen hissed as he accidentally grazed his side on the exterior of the car as he closed the passenger door. The boy was still feeling rather queasy; he steadied himself when he felt that he was going to fall over on the curb. When he thought he had enough strength to keep moving, he did and stalked to come right on Lancer's side.

Drivers were obviously ignoring the pair as the road began to open itself up and the two were passed by. Danny knew that they needed to find a car pronto; he could sense multiple eyes staring at them. Watching them. Analyzing them.

When yet another car zoomed passed them, a frown appeared on the teen's face. "We don't have time for this."

Staring down at one of the bottled waters in his hand, he made a quick decision and hurriedly threw the water toward an upcoming car. The bottle crunched up and burst on impact on the windshield, the aforementioned car squealed at the traction as the driver lost control and had to stop right next to the man and teen.

Danny smiled. "Found our ride."

He then grabbed Lancer's hand before the man could protest and opened the back seat door to the revealed Hyundai to climb right in. The man up front turned to start shouting at the unwanted vagabonds that had the audacity to come into his vehicle when his eyes widened in recognition when they landed on Fenton. Danny too was familiar with the man - Ernesto Montez, former mayor of Amity Park.

"Drive." The boy commanded with a glare.

Lancer was more meek as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "So sorry for the inconvenience, sir. But this is sort of an emergency. We need to get to Amity Park as soon as possible."

Ernesto glared at the two and was about to refuse when a loud honk from behind them shut his mouth. He had no choice but to put the car in drive and head forward. The high school educator breathed a sigh of relief when he felt and saw the vehicle moving. A few minutes later, a sign saying that there was a ramp directly leading to Amity Park appeared. _Yes, I can put an end to this nightmare of a day behind me, _the bald male mused.

His happy thoughts soon trailed off when the other man bypassed the ramp and kept going. Lancer became scared again, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Um, excuse me, sir, but you passed the ramp to-" Lancer was cut off.

"We're not going to Amity Park," the former mayor of mentioned city said icily, "I'm taking you two to the police station. I can't chance having a teenage criminal in my back seat."

But-but-but-but, sir, you have to understand - this boy surely couldn't be a criminal. I'm sure it's all just a misunder-DANNY! What are you doing?"

Ernesto slumped unconscious in his seat, and the car began steering to the left as Danny removed his fingers from the man's neck pressure point. Lancer took control of the wheel with a panic he was all too familiar with. What if the boy was as dangerous as everyone set him out to be? What had he been thinking?

The teen actually had a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, Lancer. If my powers weren't so messed up, I would have just overshadowed him and drove the car myself."

Edward moved the unresponsive man over and rose above Ernesto's body to properly drive the vehicle. He discretely viewed the teenager from the rearview mirror. Danny's eyes briefly locked on his before the educator broke eye contact to exit from the highway and turn them back around.

Leaning backward to put his seatbelt on, the raven teen whispered just loud enough for the older to hear, "Please don't be afraid of me, Mr. Lancer."

* * *

**More to come folks...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

* * *

6

As a young child, Danny had always been fascinated with the concept of space and exploration. He remembered being only seven years old, and exclaiming one day to his parents with childish enthusiasm that he was going to be a famous astronaut like the brave men and women he had seen on television.

Of course, Jack and Maddie Fenton had just laughed at their youngest child's optimism and had told him that they would support him with what ever he wanted to do in his life. He had beamed at them then, and had kept up that same positive outlook, even after the accident in the lab that morphed him into a half-ghost superhero.

Danny figured that his role now - whether he became an astronaut later on or continued to fight to protect his hometown - would be to change the world for the better. He knew he would in fact sacrifice more than most would, to the point where he would give up his own life in order to do just that.

As Danny and Lancer waited in Ernesto's vehicle for the light in one of the intersections to change to green after they had exited from the highway, the black haired teen discerned that his usual outlook would have to work in this dire circumstance, too. The look in the older man's eyes was enough to make Danny want to destroy all the bad that was embroiled in society.

"Don't be afraid," the boy repeated determinedly as Lancer turned the car around in a legal U-turn.

"I-I'm not afraid." The literary loving educator lied in a stutter, glancing quickly at the younger male before avoiding his eyes when he saw that the boy was watching him. Montez suddenly groaned from the passenger seat, and Lancer thought in dread that the man was going to awaken. But when he didn't, Lancer let out a rush of breath.

"You are," Danny conceded with a contemplative countenance, "and I don't want you to be. You have to understand - things are not what they appear to be."

"So, everything you've told me isn't-"

"Everything that I have told you is the truth," Danny spoke over the man, needing to explain himself further before Lancer jumped too far in his own conclusions, "and it's a lot more complicated than you can ever imagine."

With a tremble of his hand, the bald man switched on the turn signal to change lanes and gradually came to a stop in front of a grassy playground. Danny waited patiently as Lancer leaned his head down to rest his head on the steering wheel and build up the courage to ask him the most important questions.

After a long pause, Lancer started while raising his head. "I...told you from the beginning that I would listen to you. I can sense that, despite everything, you're a decent enough...kid. But why then would these...ghosts...and the police be after you, if you haven't done anything wrong? And what about your parents' murder-"

"The police? My parents' murder?" Danny's complexion went as white as the so-called spirits that were chasing them, at least figuratively speaking.

"Yes." Lancer continued slowly, understanding that something was conflicting the teen. "This morning at my school, I saw a news report about you being a suspect in your family's murder. The Amity Park Police, as well as the Illinois State Police, want to apprehend you, you know. Please, tell me you have done nothing w-wrong, Danny."

"My parents' murder..." the teen said again, now with an angered glare in place, "is what they really said? That I had killed them?"

"And that you're dangerous." Lancer unhelpfully pointed out.

Danny still had the glare on his face, but moisture had began to settle in his eyes. He stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. "That crazed up fruitloop even has the police on his side. Figures."

"W-What? What are you talking about?"

The shattered removal of the car's side mirror by a resounded blast coming from behind the three bodies in the car made Danny's mouth shut without having the chance to answer the older man. Both Mr. Lancer and Danny spun in their seats to see what had caused such destruction, and found four ghostly vultures flying speedily right toward the vehicle.

Edward gulped down his intended squeak and twisted his body back to the front to put the car into drive again. The man didn't even have time to check whether another car was approaching in his blind spot and almost ran into one when he pulled away from the sidewalk.

The wrath of other irate drivers was of no importance as blast after blast advanced closer and closer to them. Lancer kept gazing backward to see the ghosts' progress, unaware of the deep puddle that was in the middle of the street inches away. When the Hyundai he was driving raced through the watery hole, the car bounced upward, momentarily making the older man lose control. He nearly hit another car as a result, but hastily straightened the wheel.

A vehicle then unexpectedly sped from the back of them after coming from a corner, tailgating the Hyundai's bumper. Because said vehicle got in the way of the discharges, the woman behind the wheel had the misfortune of getting her back windows smashed. Her car stopped abruptly, causing two fender-benders from separate cars on each side, although the collisions weren't severe.

"We really need to stop taking the time to talk," Lancer shouted over the blasts' noise, "'cause every time we do, other ghosts show up!"

Danny's glare deepened to himself, yet the sheen in his cerulean orbs had ebbed away. "Then you need to do exactly what I say, when I say it. No more doubting me or second guessing yourself. Because I'm only going to say this once - I would _never _purposely do anything to harm my parents are anyone else for that matter."

"Yeah, but Danny-"

"No, buts, Mr. Lancer."

Lancer sighed heavily while keeping his eyes moving to the frontward and driving defensively. "Okay, okay. Tell me how we can lose them."

"Well, are you a fan of action movies?" Danny smirked, seemingly playful.

* * *

Vlad had just finished marking his unwanted paperwork, his folder lying nearly forgotten on his desk. The false gentleman pushed the documents to the side and then leaned his body back in his cushioned chair to rub his temples with his fingers. Sometimes, being a successful and wealthy businessman wasn't as glamorous as the media made it seem.

Moments later, the man opened the cupboard in his desk almost absentmindedly like he had done so many times previous. He delved inside briefly before bringing out a snapshot that he was all too familiar with. It was a picture of his Maddie in a family portrait with Daniel and the boy's late sister Jasmine. The big oaf's (Jack's) face was colored out with a red marker.

He lifted his hand to trace the curve of Maddie's face with his fingertips, her gorgeous smile making his heart clench. Oh, how he missed this woman. The woman that he had been his friend in college. The woman that he had fallen in love with. The woman that would have been his if it hadn't been for that idiot Jack!

Without realizing it, Vlad's cold blue eyes seeped into an even colder crimson. His body started shaking in fury. How he wished he could bring that infuriating man back to life just so that he could be the one to kill him repeatedly. Why couldn't life just be fair to him for once?

"Still reminiscing on things that will never be, I see." An amused voice spoke from slightly above him.

"Hold your tongue, Skulker!" Vlad Masters hissed, landing his red irises on the floating ghost that had suddenly appeared in his office. "You know I can have you eliminated with a snap of my fingers."

The identified named Skulker in all his robotic suit glory lowered himself to the ground to stand in front of the billionaire. The fiery green haired beast of a ghost wanted to tease the man some more, but knew that Vlad's threat shouldn't be taken lightly. He decided to just have a smirk in place instead.

"So you've told me plenty of times," Skulker agreed offhandedly, his eyes landing on the picture in the other's hand, "how's the search for the whelp coming along?"

Putting the picture back in the cupboard, the ponytailed business mogul smirked himself, his eyes returning to their normal color. "As fate would have it, Daniel is on his way to Amity Park as we speak. He's traveling with an older gentleman by the name of Edward Lancer." Vlad parted the folder on his desk's surface and took out another snapshot. "It seems Spectra is indeed useful for some things."

Skulker glanced down at the picture of the bald man before a sinister smile grew on his face. "Do you want me to get rid of him?"

"All in good time. I'm still testing the boy right now. That drug in his system is making it difficult for him to use his powers properly." Vlad had his own smug grin as he said this, as though it was all part of some inside joke.

* * *

Danny had directed him to enter the route they had been driving beforehand. The boy had stated that it would be easier and safer - even for the other drivers and bystanders - to dodge the blasts the vultures were throwing at them while traveling away from residential areas and shopping centers.

The piercing squawks from the ghostly fiends was an indication of how close or how far apart they were from the racing vehicle. The blue eyed boy had instructed Lancer to drive quite unlawfully, for the sake of evading their pursuers and to have innocent people out of harm's way as far as the flares were concerned.

The high school teacher changed from one lane fleetingly to another and did these maneuvers for several minutes, being as swift as a motorcyclist that would zoom by clogged vehicles. Though, the bushy trees that blocked the street below made it simple for the man and teen to flee. When the traffic started to slow, Lancer had to reluctantly press on the brake to avoid striking the SUV that was in front of them.

"Are they still behind us?" The man asked nervously. When the boy didn't respond, Lancer moved his head to peer at the other. The backseat was somehow empty; Danny was no where in sight. "Danny? Danny!" The teacher's attention went back to the road when a car honked its horn.

"Nng...Wha-?" A sluggish sounding voice moaned from Edward's right side.

Ernesto's eyes began to blink continually in his daze. His dark orbs inattentively trekked to the rearview mirror where a reflection of a dark haired boy was fading in and out of the seeing eye. The boy would disappear on moment, and then reappear the next. The reality of a teen being able to vanish before his very eyes was too much for the man; Ernesto's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted.

"Where are you?" Lancer beseeched to himself in anguish. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and his tense muscles relaxed when he found Danny sitting there, seemingly in one piece. Danny touched his chest cautiously, assuring that he would remain solid. The older male brought his eyes back to the front. "Why did you disappear like that?"

"I didn't do it on purpose." The black haired teen said resignedly. He was just so tired physically and mentally.

"You think they are still after us?" Lancer asked, referring to the vultures on their trail.

Danny was silent for so long that the older man didn't think the other had heard him. He then muttered. "We're good - for now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

* * *

7

The silent one way street that led into the city of Amity Park was surrounded on each side with what appeared to be a desolate flatland covered with prickly, dying greenery and dirt filled lands. Lancer was unimpressed with the whole area, even when he, Danny, and an unresponsive Ernesto drew closer and came upon the welcoming sign, _'Amity Park, a Nice Place to Live!' _before reaching the city's entrance.

The city itself, however, was decent looking as they rode through with its moderately large vast of masterfully constructed buildings and skyscrapers. The grass from before altered into a nice, healthy green trim and the early afternoon sky above them was cloudless and bright. Still, the near absence of people roaming about in the vicinity of the city was disconcerting. There was an eerie aura seeping from the outside that brought a chilling sensation to the older man's body.

"So, where are we stopping?" Lancer asked, wanting to break the present awkward silence that had befallen between him and the dark haired teen.

Danny seemed to contemplate the question before he said, "I need to somehow get in contact with my friends. They should be able to help me."

"Where do your friends live then?"

Danny didn't answer as his eyes went wide in his sockets and he absently rested the palms of his hands against the car's back passenger window to glance outside. "Stop the car," his command was so haunted that Lancer couldn't have disregarded it even if he had had the strength to.

With the screech of his tires, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop right in the middle of the street. Edward didn't get a word in edgewise as the younger boy bolted out of the Hyundai and raced his way to the remains of charred brick, rumble, and lawn in an isolated area. Danny fell to his knees in front of the blackened space, his hand reaching out to grasp onto a single burnt piece of plastic that was amongst the debris.

Lancer stalked over to stand behind the distraught teen, yet Danny ignored his presence for a time. Danny tightened his hold on his find as he clenched his eyes to keep the tears at bay. Bittersweet memories assaulted his mind in a warring haze, making it that much harder to control his emotions. The sudden guilt of all that had happened to him and his family in the past almost was too much.

With a shaking breath, Danny reopened his now glowing green eyes and stared ahead at seemingly nothing. "My friends and I used to come here all the time. The Nasty Burger was the most popular food place to eat at after school." He paused and gave a humorless laugh before saying, "My friend Tucker always had said the word 'nasty' was one letter away from the word 'tasty'."

"W-What happened?" Lancer said softly, not sure he even wanted to know after he had asked.

Danny slowly, almost hesitantly, looked back over his shoulder to peer at the other with his green eyes changing into a vulnerable sapphire gem. "It was an explosion," he murmured as he then stood up and released the light piece of plastic into the wind. He watched as it fluttered effortlessly in the air before he focused on the high school teacher once again. "We should go to the library, and use one of their computers. They have internet connection."

The black haired boy quickly walked back to the car with Lancer a step behind him with a bewildered expression, the both of them hopping into the vehicle and fastening their seatbelts. Ernesto was still passed out in the front seat; Lancer made sure to check and see that the other man was still breathing before placing the automatic into drive and racing down the road. Lancer wasn't too worried about maintaining his speed on Amity Park's highways, but he still kept a reasonable pace. Once he had gotten the directions to the library, he headed toward downtown through one of the city's back roads.

* * *

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just call your friends instead of going through all this hassle?"

Danny and Lancer were stationed at an assigned computer inside the city's library, the sitting black haired teen hastily pressing keys and trying to access a rather familiar instant messenger. Danny had been swift to remove himself from the vehicle the minute Lancer parked the car into an empty space, but the older male had to convincingly remind him that he was still a wanted fugitive who was the prime suspect in his family's death. He would be caught by the authorities if he didn't have some type of cover.

With quick thinking, Danny had rushed back to Montez's car and poked around in the backseat where he had seen a heavy coat and fedora-like hat on the floor. He had then put on his improvised disguise, the boy looking more like a miniature version of a detective than anything else; but nonetheless, was unrecognizable. Danny had made sure to keep his eyes lowered so that he didn't make eye contact with anyone.

After the two had gone inside, they had strolled over to the check out stand and had obtained permission from the librarian to use one of the six available computers that was secluded from the rest of the stock. There were less than five people reading and/or renting out books so Danny didn't have to be concerned about how long he spent on the net. It was just so frustrating to have Lancer questioning him and not being able to log into his IM account. Eventually, a blank screen with the word 'forbidden' popped open after his nth attempt of trying and failing to sign in.

"You shouldn't doubt me, remember?" Danny said with a bit of dejection moments later. "And yes, it would be easier to call my friends, but contacting them through IM is much safer."

"How so?" Mr. Lancer watched on curiously as Danny clicked into the system's files and typed diligently.

"For one, they're still at school and won't be let out for another hour or so. But more importantly, I know for a fact that they are being watched and that their phones are tapped."

"But couldn't the internet be tapped as well?"

Danny didn't respond right away; he was skillful with his fingers as he typed with patient speed and opened window after window on the desktop as he entered in unknown information. Lancer observed for awhile before he figured out what the clever teen was doing. It only took another couple of minutes before Danny was able to log in completely. A satisfied smile overcame the said teen's face as he tricked the computer into gaining him access.

"If anything _is_ tapped through the internet connection, it would take longer to decode," Danny was referring to what the older male had asked beforehand, "this way, I could send my own encrypted message to Sam and Tucker."

Lancer couldn't help but be proud of how sharp minded this boy was. "You know what you did was probably illegal, right?"

The raven headed male shrugged. "Probably," he agreed nonchalantly, "I have my friend Tucker to thank for that."

Danny finished with the computer five minutes later, safely shutting down the PC through the start menu. He and Lancer then stood up from their appointed chairs and departed from the library. Lancer had wanted to browse through some of the shelves that encased the books, but he knew neither one of them had time for that. They were both surprised to see that the former mayor of Amity Park was still slouched downward unconscious in his seat of his vehicle.

"Wow. He's still knocked out," Danny muttered.

"Like me, he's probably had a traumatic day."

* * *

Lancer drove his two traveling occupants to the parking lot of the Amity Park Mall. Danny had reasoned that it would be best for the both of them to be in a public place, a threat was less likely to attack them in front of bystanders. The educator and teenager left the car wordlessly, leaving the keys in clear sight for Ernesto as soon as the man decided to wake up. The towering structure of the shopping mall wasn't all that impressive, though it did have a sense of simplistic style for the entryway.

There were a lot more passersby in and around the interior of the building than there had been from the outside. The hustle and bustle of the regular customers coming in and out of various stores was of a typical setting, although the looks of wariness and apprehension on the majority of their faces was much to be desired. Edward and Danny effectively stayed inconspicuous within the crowd. No one became alarmed as the concealed black haired boy walked onward. He was just another kid with no fashion sense to them.

But even with how smoothly everything was coming along at the moment, Lancer continued to feel the ominous stirring that was settling all around them. He didn't know if that was his growing paranoia or something more evil heading their way. He consciously could admit to himself he thought it was the latter.

"You feel it too, don't you? That foreboding feeling."

The heavyset male snapped his head in the direction of the ebony haired teen's voice in shock. Danny was currently several feet away, gazing at a closed off section of the mall. The opening of a specific store was trashed with graffiti and yellow colored tape. On its stained window was a 3-D picture of a teenaged boy superhero in a fighting stance with snow-white locks and shimmering green orbs. The black hazmat suit the teen was wearing showcased the small amount of muscles on his torso, even though the rest of his body was lithe.

Lancer ambled forward and came to stand on the side of the younger male. His jade eyes followed Danny's line of vision, and his eyebrows furrowed when he inwardly read the name of the superhero above the aforementioned photo: _Danny Phantom. _A sudden revelation clicked in his mind as the man began to look back and forth between Danny and the pale headed crime fighter.

"Th-That's _you_, isn't it? You're this Danny Phantom character." The teacher was stunned.

"It doesn't matter. It's not who I am anymore," was the whispered reply after a long pause.

Taking one more look at the picture, Danny shoved his hands in the coat's pocket and walked away, his mood somber. Lancer trailed behind, questions formulating in his mind. He still wanted to resume probing Danny about some of his thoughts, but thought better of it when he caught the look of seriousness on the younger male's countenance. Lancer had to wonder about this boy. If Danny hadn't been the one responsible for his parents' murder, than who was? Running footsteps halted the older man's mind process as a frightened young woman ran past he and a startled Danny.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Danny cautioned. Lancer unsteadily nodded his head in affirmation.

Somehow, the two of them distractedly stumbled upon a trinket shop. Lancer was searching through a pile of mundane ornaments when he sensed the telltale sign of somebody watching him. He lifted his head upward and saw a minuscule camera attached in the corner of the wall. The small lens of the device seemed to zoom in everytime either he or Danny made a slight move_. That is very disturbing... _

xxx

A green skinned ghost hid in the shadows and kept his eyes focused on the older male and teen a distance away. He was internally giddy with the mass of damage he would be indulging himself in. He couldn't wait! Just a few more minutes...

xxx

Danny and Lancer sauntered side by side, narrowly evading the hordes of people that were standing in front of the Orange Julius stand. Both males had departed from the trinket shop hurriedly, neither one being able to pinpoint exactly what was going on. And because Danny's ghost sense hadn't been triggered, the black haired teen couldn't specify why he was feeling the way he was feeling. All he knew was something was bound to occur.

It was around a quarter to three when the pair arrived at the food court, the allotted meeting place Danny had set up between them and his friends. Danny just hoped that his friend Tucker still had his PDA and that he and Sam would meet up with them sooner rather than later. The ebony headed boy found a round table at the edge of a passageway where he and Lancer could sit at while they waited.

Both took a seat, dragging their chairs across the patterned linoleum on the ground. As soon as they got comfortable, the lights that illuminated all the stores blew out, causing surprised gasps and shouts to erupt from several of the shoppers. Lancer tensed his body in alarm whereas Danny stood up and looked around their surroundings in awareness. Some of the more fearful people ran about, screaming their heads off, but Danny paid no mind to them.

An unidentified hand unexpectedly clapped on his shoulder from behind him; and at the same time, the same bluish breath left his lips in all its creepiness. Then a familiar female voice whispered delicately in his ear.

_"Danny..."_

_

* * *

_

**It's been a while, huh? And of course, it ends on a cliffhanger...haha! Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

**A/N: Hello, Readers! I wanted to let you know, if you haven't caught on already, that this fic is an alternative timeline/alternative reality. The story does involve ghosts, but there are going to be modifications throughout. For example, Lancer and Danny didn't know each other before this. Lancer doesn't teach at Casper High, nor does he even live in Amity Park. Now, that that's out of the way, on to chapter eight!**

* * *

8

A familiar female voice whispered delicately in his ear. "Danny..."

xxx

Two hooded figures stood behind the watchful ebony haired teen with reservation, the hand mentioned from before releasing Fenton's shoulder. Lancer was still frightened with the amount of pandemonium that was happening around them, but the relieved expression on Danny's face was enough to calm him slightly. A small smile had reached the said boy's lips and his eyes had softened as he twirled around to face the newcomers.

"Sam, Tucker," Danny returned softly, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to embrace the others.

As if on cue, the hidden pair removed their hoods to reveal a black headed Goth looking girl and a dark skinned bespectacled boy. The three teens stared at one another momentarily, wanting to say more until shrill screaming was heard. Danny was quick in converting back to his combat mode; he swiftly introduced Lancer to his friends before gesturing with his hands for all four of them to follow his lead.

Lancer could feel both Tucker and Sam observing him from the corner of their eyes as they all darted through the now vacating mall, searching for the otherworldly source. The two comrades weren't suspicious of the older man per se, but they knew better than to let their guards down, especially when it came to an adult. _Adults_ were dangerous in their complicated situation. _Adults _were harmful. _Adults _had been the ones to take Danny away and lock him up. So, as far as they were concerned, they had a right to be somewhat wary of the bald male.

A sudden resounding crash from the distance forced the group to rush near one of the exits to the mall. The noise had led them to halt in front of an electronics store known for its pricey merchandise and appliances. On the other side of the glass windows were laptops, video game systems, and other such gadgets levitating in the air, lighting the semi-dark space with an energetic greenish glow.

"Well, doesn't this look awfully familiar," the ever sarcastic Sam commented dryly, her eyebrows furrowing in annoyance.

"Yeah. Just like the good old days," Danny's grin was faux, strained. "Tuck, did you bring it?" He brought his attention to the red beret wearing other teen, questioningly.

Tucker nodded his head and swung his backpack he had been carrying to his chest to rummage inside. He then took out a seemingly average thermos and threw it towards Danny, the latter catching the container with practiced ease. With determination, the reluctant hero and his companions sauntered into the store and Danny began using his currently flickering irises to explore within. Aside from the floating devices, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. At least not yet.

The silence encasing them however was unnerving; it was only a matter of time before something were to transpire. Mr. Lancer decided to stay close to the entrance, unaware of the uncoiling wires that were moving at his feet. The high school educator let out a fearful scream as the cables below wrapped around his arms and legs to hold him in place. The trio of teenagers spun around at the man's shout, but didn't get a chance to come to his rescue as a presence materialized from the shadows and gave a derisive laugh.

"I have you right where I want you, ghost child."

"Technus," Danny hissed, his eyes flashing from blue to green.

The aforementioned green colored entity smirked cruelly, the shades he had on glinting. "Yes, it is I and as master of all things technological–"

"SAVE IT!" The black haired boy shouted, cutting off the ghostly braggart before uncapping the top of the thermos in hand. Before he was able to suck Technus into the thermos, a shield made up of computer chips whizzed above him, knocking the flask out of his hand. A mass of machinery instantly hurled in the direction of the three; the teens ducked in a hurry, almost having their heads sliced. They then bent lower in a huddle. "Sam," he directed to the girl, "go check on Mr. Lancer." Sam nodded and crept the opposite way. "Tucker, do you think you can override the system with your PDA?"

Tucker answered somberly. "I can try, but if this is anything like last time, it won't be easy."

"Just do what you can. I'll take care of Technus."

And with that, the boys sprang into action, separating from each other on both sides. Technus aimed an ecto-charged blast toward Danny and used his technopathy to summon various devices to create a high-tech weapon. Danny had to drop down and roll his body a couple of times to dodge the discharges as they bypassed him and destroyed scrap and metal. The hissing resonance of the melting solids after the flashes had collided with them rang loudly in all of the attendees' ears.

Tucker kept himself covered; he hid behind a shelf of keyboards, fiddling with his hand held as he tried to hack the net. Sam remained in a crouched position, coming closer to the now shell-shocked teacher. Lancer had ceased his screams, but his frantic eyes were widening in their sockets. His heavy breathing increased the longer he stayed tied in the wires.

Danny began crawling on the ground, looking for his fallen thermos. In his haste to find it, he made the mistake of inching too far to the left and came across a dead end. The teen could recognize the sound of the self-proclaimed technological genius finishing his combined construction and heading straight for him. Danny turned on his back when he felt Technus' hovering approach. He scurried backwards, using the heel of his shoes and palm of his hands.

Technus had a look of triumph on his face as he pointed the weapon at him. Fenton shut his eyes, waiting for the impact; but unexpectedly, a wooden ledge came crashing down on top of the green skinned ghost. The white haired Technus gave a strangled cry at the extra weight; he had been unprepared of the movement and hadn't thought to phase through. Tucker, who had been the one to push the ledge, presented Danny with thumbs up. The dark haired boy smiled in thanks.

* * *

Amused ice-blue eyes watched a screen on a mahogany desk with giddy anticipation. Vlad Masters could safely admit to himself that he was rather impressed with Daniel's vigor. The said teen was all but without his powers and equipment, and yet he and those two meddling friends of his were able to hold their own against a full fledged paranormal. How surprisingly...entertaining.

But then again, the youngest Fenton had always been resilient, even before Vlad knew about his ghostly half. The boy had a vibrant spirit and a hero complexity about him that the slimy billionaire was both infuriated and fascinated by. How could someone – a mere child at that – have so many hardships and still have an optimistic mentality? It made little sense to the business tycoon.

In his childhood and much of his adolescence, Vlad had had an inward longing to be accepted by anybody and everybody. His self-involved parents barely gave him the time of day, and his peers from school were uncomfortable around him because of his unconventional mannerisms and ideas. On particular occasions, the times the young Vlad felt really lonely, he would barricade himself in his room and brood; the bitterness his hurt feelings suppressed manifesting as the years continued.

Once he had reached college though, his life had progressively gotten better, at least at first they had. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vlad had encountered dozens of freshmen who, like himself, hadn't fit in with others during their earlier schooling. One such man he happened to befriend was a radical science major named Jack Fenton. The two were polar opposites as far as personalities; nevertheless, the eccentric men became fast friends.

And then, _she_ came along. Beautiful Maddie. A woman with a heart of gold and a brain to match. Vlad would have done anything for her, done anything to be _with_ her. If only she had been aware of his love for her; if she had known, maybe things would have been different. Instead, Jack went on to marry Maddie and had two kids with her and Vlad had ended up with ecto-acne caused by the other man that ruined his reputation.

The bitterness from his secluded youth finally erupted, specifically after he had been released from the hospital resulting from the 'accident' and had gained ghost abilities. The man believed he was doomed to live a life filled with loneliness and shame until that fateful day when he had met Jack's and Maddie's only son Daniel, a boy he found out to be a halfa as well. Vlad knew the teen had potential, and he wanted to mold that potential into something extraordinary, something legendary. Something, or rather some_one _just like him_._

Of course with his luck, Daniel had to fight him every step of the way. Why couldn't the boy cooperate? Why did he have to be so stubborn? Couldn't he see that Vlad was the only one who could fully understand him and guide him? It wasn't just because he was his mother's son either (although that was a big part of it), it also had to do with the fact that the boy was powerful and ingenious. Masters would have to be a fool to pass up such an opportunity.

Static from his surveillance camera broke Vlad from his internal musings, his hard sapphires gazing back to the screen. The picture was fading in and out with all the commotion from the mall and the ponytailed male was having a difficult time distinguishing who was who and what was what. He thought to himself, _I'll just have to wait and see. I did tell Technus not to hurt the boy _too _badly, after all_.

* * *

The beige walls of the store started to twist and contour into unusual shapes, a gradual liquefying motion transforming the room into a child's version of a darkened cave. By now, Technus had merged with many of the electronics and had telepathically commanded some of the computers on display to rotate around the room in an orbit-like dance.

Danny was upright on his feet again, still trying to find his parents' thermos while keeping an eye on the white headed ghost's descent. Sam was comforting a confused Lancer since she wasn't able to loosen the wires without them snapping at her. And Tuck was...where was the techno geek, anyway?

"Tuck? Tucker! Where are you? Are you okay?" Danny's heart was pounding in his chest; the other boy was nowhere in his sight and their location was becoming more altered.

Silence ensued longer than was necessary in their given circumstance. Finally, an anxious voice responded, "Yeah, dude, I'm okay. My PDA, unfortunately is not. It's short circuiting."

Danny had enough consideration to groan silently to himself in disbelief; Sam, on the other hand, did so outwardly. "Why haven't you been using your ghost powers, Danny?" She glanced expectedly at the other black haired teen.

"Because those creeps that had me captured injected me with some kind of counteractive drug."

A creaking from one of the windows up front ricocheted piercingly before the pressure became too much and the pane shattered. Lancer and Sam shrieked as pieces of glass flew all around. Danny was running out of options, and he wasn't sure how long he and his friends could last against the insufferable fiendish specter. More disturbing changes were taking place and it made Technus' smirk from before broaden.

"How do you like me now, eh?" The fusing ghoul boasted. "The whole room is becoming like a virus!"

"A virus?" Danny reiterated, and then something flashed in his mind. "That's it," he whispered to himself, before he exclaimed. "Tucker, destroy your PDA!"

"Huh? What for? It's already not working properly–"

"Trust me on this!"

The teen with the glasses took one last longing look at his device before raising his right arm upward, getting ready to smash it on the tiles. Right as he was about to lower his hand, an assembly of tools came to enclose him where he was situated. Thinking quickly, he slid the PDA on the ground, the hand held making its way toward his crime fighting ally.

"Heading your way, Danny!" Tucker hollered.

Jumping over a limp cable intent on tripping him, the dark haired boy landed gracefully and caught the device with his foot before crushing it. Technus let out a wail as the corresponding electronics blew out and shut down. The ghost in his fury mentally flung a monitor at Danny, which the teen was easily able to avoid. The walls slowly began to revert back to their original form. Edward Lancer's eyes settled on an object that was revolving on the shifting floor.

"I think that's his thermos," the older man said hoarsely.

Sam looked over at what Lancer was peering at and her eyes widened. "Danny, look!" She pointed her finger at the said object. It was indeed the ghost-capturing container.

Danny didn't waste any time as he bent down to pick up the flask and directed the cylinder at the dazed entity that had been pushed out of the surroundings. Technus growled at the half-ghost teen, clutching his head. "You insolent brat!"

Danny leered. "Sorry, Technus, but this is one gadget you can't dominate." A brightening beam came from the thermos, drawing in the green colored ghost and afterwards a contented quiet. Danny closed the top to the thermos and pocketed it. The wires freed Lancer from his seize abruptly and he and the female teen strolled toward Danny with Tucker coming from the other side. "Everyone okay?" Three heads bobbed up and down. "How're you doing, Mr. Lancer?"

Lancer gave him an uneasy smile. "A little shaken up, but fine."

Sam stared at Danny curiously. "How'd you know that destroying Tucker's PDA would weaken him?"

The blue eyed boy shrugged. "I could see that all the electronics were connected, so I figured one going out of whack would create an unbalanced 'virus', as Technus put it." A pause, then a soft, "Anyway, thanks you guys. I couldn't have done it without you." That was all the prompting they needed as Sam and Tucker hurriedly draped their arms around their friend that they hadn't seen in several months. Danny hugged them back just as fiercely, never wanting to let them go.

* * *

Vlad grinned chillingly and placed his folded hands on his lap as he witnessed the tender scene on his presently working camera. Skulker peeked over the older halfa's shoulder to view as Danny embraced his friends. The domineering ghost wanted to sneer at such human affection, but refrained. He looked to his boss, slightly creeped out with the way the other's eyes were sparkling.

"I think it's about time you brought young Daniel here to greet me. I know how much you miss the hunt," the billionaire announced.

Skulker smirked. "What about the others?"

Vlad waved his hand dismissively. "Do as you wish. Just don't disappoint me."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever.

* * *

9

The fluorescent lights hanging above the store flickered on instantly; their bright bulbs illuminating certain sections of the now nearly damaged area. Danny reluctantly released his tight hold on his friends after several minutes, taking a step backwards as he smiled uneasily at them. The heavy silence from before fell amongst the four comrades in an awkward sort of tension that was all too difficult to ignore—that is, until the always 'dependable' Tucker Foley broke the moment with a needless question directed at Danny.

"Dude, what's with the lame getup?"

Danny briefly glanced down at his Sherlock Holmes-esque attire with an inquisitive eye before looking back at his friends and letting out the most undignified snort. The small sound was enough to relax Sam and Tucker, who erupted into some snickers of their own. Pretty soon, the chuckles turned into full blown laughter; the trio of teens was laughing so hard that each of them were clutching at their stomachs. Even Mr. Lancer gave a chuckle or two, although the older man did it more out of anxiety.

After getting his laughter under control, Danny stood upward and replied sincerely. "Man, how I've missed you two."

"Likewise," and "You too, Danny," was muttered simultaneously while Sam grabbed onto the other dark haired teen for an even quicker embrace. She then pulled away abruptly with a red tint upon her cheeks. The sight was so charming that Fenton found himself blushing as well. Tucker rolled his eyes at their blatant flirtation, prompting Sam to clear her throat and get down to business.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way," the Manson girl started in a stern tone, "where do we go from here? We're going to have to do some serious planning if we're going to stop Vlad from any of his diabolical schemes."

"How about we eat first?" Lancer suggested meekly, almost recoiling when all he received were incredulous gazes. "I mean, food will supply us with energy, which we're going to need. Another ghost may pop out at any time, and we have to be prepared."

Three pairs of irises continued to stare at the high school teacher and the said man had an urge to fidget right in place_. Or better yet, never come back from this haunted place again_. He thought the group of allies was going to disregard everything he had said. It rather came as a surprise for him when Danny spoke up in a warm voice.

"You are such a teacher, Mr. Lancer."

The following half an hour consisted of the teens raiding around in the select few fast food establishments where edible food was readily available. They had wanted to be as quick as possible, for who knew when the next ghost attack would surface? Since the employers were swift in leaving items behind during the blackout, it was quite easy for them to swipe different rations. Considerately, Sam and Danny left as much money as they could, to the chagrin of Tucker who protested the entire time. Once they were finished with their 'food shopping', the four ended right back where they had started—the food court.

There was little conversation as they ate their meals, the three teens and one adult were guarded and too wrapped up in their own musings. Edward had a difficult time really enjoying his food in particular; understandably, he was worried about Danny and how physically weak the boy really was. Lancer was glad he had at least been brave enough to speak and recommend that they feed their bellies. Sure, the man was still curious and had questions—_especially about this 'Vlad' character_—but after everything he had been through and knowing that Danny had been truthful thus far, he felt that some of the mysteries he had come across were better off left alone.

Dipping a french fry in a glob of a container of ketchup, Sam asked after what felt like the continuation of existence, "So, how bad is this counteractive drug these freaks injected you with?"

Danny sighed and set aside the _Subway _sandwich he had made for himself. "It's one of the GIW's latest substances that break down chemical filters in the body. The drug doesn't recognize the ectoplasm in my own body, so like the cells in our immune system, it attacks the unique strand of DNA. What's worse is that the drug isn't completely finished yet, that's why my powers keep coming and going."

"That lousy organization is still too incompetent, I see," Sam snorted in disdain.

"Yeah," agreed the used-to-be superhero, "but that's not to say that they don't at least have some good people on their team. One of them even saved me; he helped me to escape that place. I just hope that where ever he is, he's not too badly injured or in trouble."

Before either Tuck or Sam could ask more about the agent, Lancer gave a question of his own. "Wait—what is 'GIW'?"

"The Guys in White, a secret organization whose primary goal is to either capture or eliminate ghosts, or more specifically...me." Danny responded bitterly.

"Are they the ones responsible for...whatever happened to your family?" The older male clenched his jaw in guilt as soon as he saw the melancholy look from Danny, the angered glare from Sam, and the downcast expression from Tucker.

"No, it was an accident. Remember that explosion I told you about?" Danny mumbled. Lancer's eyes bugged out of his sockets and he lost the color in his face. The man stuttered to himself, wanting to apologize but failing.

After a long stretch of quiet, Tucker chirped in his most enthusiastic voice, trying to ease the strain, "Nature calls, everyone! How about we all have a little bathroom break before we continue?"

Casting one last glare at Lancer, Samantha stood from her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine by me. I'm going with you guys."

"You can't come with us to the boy's bathroom," exclaimed Tucker. "You're a _girl, _Sam." The techno geek spoke to the other as though she were a mere five year old.

The female teen rolled her eyes. "It would be more logical for us to stick together. Besides, no one's even here, so I think I'll be okay."

"Sam's right," Danny said unexpectedly, immediately losing his somber mood. "There's usually safety in numbers."

Throwing away their trash as they walked through the aisles, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Lancer made their way to the public restrooms, across from one of the jewelry shops in the mall. Danny made sure to pat Lancer's shoulder in a friendly gesture before they entered the restrooms, conveying that there were no hard feelings between them.

The blue eyed boy could see the look of regret on the troubled man's face, and Danny wanted that look to disappear. Edward Lancer had done more for him than most adults had ever had the thought to do, he would never be able to say 'thank you' enough to the educator. Lancer gave a half smile to the boy afterwards, feeling the weight of his unfounded guilt lift from his heart as all four of them waltzed inside of the john.

* * *

Skulker had been carefully watching them ever since the group of four had exited from the electronics store. The green haired beast was far enough away that the ghost child wouldn't be able to sense his presence. Normally, the ghost hunter would observe his prey for only a handful of minutes before striking; but in this case, he wanted the whelp and his annoying partners to completely have their guards down.

It was somewhat amusing the way the humans had interacted with one another, especially the whelp's relationship with the older male. Skulker had had a smirk on his lips when the grown human had asked the dreaded question about the boy's family. The crossed expressions on the teens' face were such a delight; Skulker had quietly chuckled to himself about it. The ghost child really _did _have a tough life, and had Skulker had even an ounce of sympathy he might have felt sorry for the dark haired teen. _But I don't. So, that's that._

Lifting a set of binoculars to his face, Skulker resumed spying on the humans, stealthily following them as they departed from the food court and headed in the direction of the restrooms. _Perfect, _the battle suit wearing ghoul surveyed merrily. _I'll have you in my clutches soon, ghost child._

The only thing left to do was to separate the black headed teen from his friends, a task he knew he could complete skillfully. He had toyed with the idea of taking all four of them in a fight, but even Skulker knew the repercussions of doing such right away. With that thought in mind, his main focus was to capture the brat first. He could always hunt and eliminate the other three later.

Being undetected above the ventilators, Skulker activated his massive weaponry embedded in his robotic suit. He then floated closer to the opening and heard the faint voices underneath him becoming louder; he recognized them as the whelp and his little girlfriend.

"...I think you should cut him some slack, Sam." The ghost child's voice echoed off the walls of the bathroom. Skulker assumed that the human man and other child were somewhere outside of the doors.

"That man had no right bringing up your family like that," the girl's voice was curt and harsh.

"Look, I know you worry about me and everything, but now's not the time to be pointing fingers. Lancer has helped me more than you could understand. He could have left me, you know, or turned me into the police, but he didn't. I need you to trust me when I say that I _trust _him, okay?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just...I hate seeing you like this, all drained and defeated. I...I wish I could be the one to save you, Danny."

"Sam..."

Grimacing in dissatisfaction at the gentle scene, Skulker prepared to fire, raising his right arm horizontally and aiming it at the restroom's third porcelain sink. Danny was at the last sink on the row, washing his hands thoroughly with a shocked appearance while Sam stood next to the door with a concerned look on her face. There was a good amount of space for the ghost hunter to release his missile.

As the dark haired teen used his hands to turn off the facet, an uncontrollable shiver gripped his upper torso. Eyes widening as blue air escaped him, Danny had just enough time to see Skulker's outline through the vents from the reflection of the mirror before he yelled out urgently, "Take cover!"

A red fiery bullet soared through the air at hyper speed, Sam and Danny barely missed the blast as the Goth girl used the steel door as a shield and the reluctant boy hero slid beneath the stalls. Skulker grinned at his success and kicked his way passed the blinds that encased the enclosed vents with his foot_._

"Time to play," Skulker proclaimed frivolously.

Suspending overhead, the ghost hunting entity took out an implanted tranquilizer in his right hand and pointed the sedative at the down teen. Danny looked around the stall to find something he could defend himself with. Out of options, the boy lifted his palm up and tapped into his core. Skulker laughed at the the halfa's poor attempt and was just about to engage him when a sudden icy chill smacked his lower half. Peering downward, the green haired ghost was startled to see that his left leg was in fact frozen.

The extra weight of the ice attached to his leg pulled his body towards the ground, the slow plummet making him growl in agitation. Danny took that chance to escape from the stall; he had tried to jump over the aggressive ghost, but Skulker was quick in grabbing the back of his shirt and twisting the boy around to face him. The blue eyed teen wiggled about, attempting to loosen the coat he had on. When that didn't work, he gave a last ditch effort to use his powers again, and miraculously, ice sheathed Skulker's syringe fixed hand.

Danny was finally able to get out of Skulker's hold; he scurried away and dashed for the door, but was too late in getting further when a stray tranquilizer struck him on the side of his right hip. With the drugs taking effect, Danny sluggishly fell to the ground in a heap, his sight swimming in and out of clarity.

"Sweet dreams, Danny," was the last thing he heard before blackness tunneled his vision.

The robotic phantom sneered in annoyance as another ghost appeared before him. "I had this under control," he hissed.

The unidentified ghost glanced at Skulker before countering monotonously, "Didn't look that way to me." The same ghoul, known for cleaning up others' messes, was gone a second later, not waiting for a response.

Yells of protest were suddenly sounded from the other side of the wall, a pounding noise was associated with the screams as Lancer, Tucker, and Sam tried to push their way into the busted restroom door. Skulker scoffed in their direction previous to picking up the unconscious Danny and disappearing with him.

* * *

_Danny was standing right outside of the Nasty Burger restaurant with a blank look on his countenance. The square shaped building was absent of any other customers inside. The afternoon sun was low in the sky; the atmosphere was littered with a few clouds and with streaks of purple. Everything surrounding him was moving in slow motion. Nature was breezing through leisurely, and the sounds his ears picked up on were of a deep resonance. _

_It wasn't until the arrival of Jack, Maddie, and his (past) future self in disguise that Danny's expressionless face morphed into a look of terror. Watching as the long-term substitute teacher he hadn't much cared for confront his parents about his test in front of the establishment made the teen realize that he was reliving the day his whole life had changed, the fateful day his family had been killed._

Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't I've saved them? Why did I have to cheat on that stupid CAT? _These questions and more swirled within the dark haired teen's mind as he continued to stand there. The unhurried speed of the background then flashed forward to his friends Sam and Tucker running towards them in order to warn them about the boiler that was due to explode at any minute. At long last, his sister Jazz appeared seemingly out of nowhere to reveal the true identity of his evil future self. His parents had been in disbelief, demanding to know from the other where their boy was. _No...

"Daniel."

_Chuckling maliciously, the evil version of an older Danny stated quite smugly from the ground, "I _am _your boy."_

"Daniel..."

No, no, no, no...NO...!

"It's time to wake up, little badger."

xxx

Danny's eyes flew opened as a gasp left his lips and he sat up from a lying position. Grasping at the shirt covering his chest, the pale teen panted out rough breaths coarsely, trying to figure out exactly where he was. In a room adorned with marble, glass, and expensive furniture, Danny was underneath a black leather sofa that was cold to the touch. The vanilla colored walls had tasteful works of famous arts, a grandeur chandelier hung below the ceiling, and the hugest flat screen television that Danny had ever seen stood beside a colossal entertainment system. All in all, the room was magnificent.

"I see you are admiring my impeccable tastes." A familiar, superior voice intoned from his right side. Danny flinched in recognition, silently wishing he could be anywhere else in the world. A baleful chuckle reached the teen's ears right on cue. "Trying to ignore me, hmm? Do you really think your attitude will stop me from getting what I want?"

Danny gave the man the most hated glare he could muster. "I'll never join you. Ever."

"So you've told me many times," Vlad Masters said with little concern. The ponytailed wearing mogul was seated in a high chair in the far corner, a testament to how great he thought he really was. Removing himself from the cushions, the man sauntered over to where the boy was still sitting. When he got close enough, he grabbed Danny's chin and held it in place. "You woke up earlier than I expected. Did you have any fascinating dreams, Daniel?"

Fenton's orbs widened before a scowl emerged on his face. "That's none of your business."

"My boy, haven't you figured it out yet? Everything you do _is _my business."

Struggling to get out of the older halfa's grasp, Vlad smirked in amusement before releasing the teen and taking a step back. Danny rubbed at his chin sourly, sending the man another glare. The billionaire clicked his tongue in playful disapproval. With a flick of his wrist, Vlad summoned agents O and P, who had been hiding in the shadows. Danny's eyes narrowed even more when he saw the two. These men had been some of his worst tormentors at the institute; they had some sort of twisted pleasure in toying with the teen. It made Danny absolutely sick.

"Take the boy to the lab," Vlad instructed. "Make sure to strap him down on the gurney tightly. He will be receiving punishment quite soon."

The agents shot the boy a gleeful look before forcefully hoisting him from under his arms. Danny resisted tiredly as he was dragged out of the room and down the hall, wondering to himself how he got caught so easily from _Skulker _of all ghosts. The dark haired male contemplated generating what little of his powers he had left prior to discovering he had the 'Plasmius Maximus' wrapped around his waist.

Right as he and the older men entered into the lab, Danny prayed internally for his friends. _Sam...Tucker...Mr. Lancer...please be alright._


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **_Danny Phantom, _and its characters and/or ideas are the creation of Butch Hartman. The show does not belong to me nor will it ever

**A/N: This fanfiction is back to its updates after being on a six-month long hiatus! The following chapter is a filler, but it's significant to the plot of the story. So, without further ado, here's chapter 10!**

* * *

10

"Danny? Danny! Are you still there? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Sam questioned desperately, pushing against the restroom's entrance while banging hard on its surface with her fists periodically. Lancer and Tucker were on opposite sides of her, using their own body strength to ram onto the said blocked door with persistence.

The three of them had been attempting to gain entry inside of the restroom for the last ten minutes. They had tried all they could think of in order to reach the other boy, but their efforts were proving to be more difficult than not.

After surviving the initial blast from Skulker's weaponry, Sam had wanted nothing more than to defend the other black haired teen; though, in the end, all she could do was shield herself from the scorching flare that had nearly burned her. She would've been no use to Danny if she had gotten hurt...or worse.

While she had covered her body with the door, she had heard the struggle between the green haired ghoul and her power-failing friend from the other side. To what extent the damage Danny might've taken, she didn't know. What she _did _know was that the thought of her friend being injured in such a way without available aid to him left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Sam was suddenly broken from her morose thoughts when Tucker turned away from the door, his back hitting the steel with a thud. Releasing an exhaustive huff, the dark skinned male swiftly lifted his beret to wipe sweat from his brow.

"Maybe Skulker recaptured him. It would make sense why we haven't heard anything," he said.

"You shouldn't think like that," the Goth girl reasoned, frowning in contemplation. "He would've needed help from another ghost in order to grab Danny."

"You have to remember, Sam, that Danny's powers are not up to par," Tuck sensibly countered. "Skulker could have taken advantage of his weakness."

Sam abruptly spun around to face the other teen, shooting daggers at him. "I know that, Tuck! You think I would forget that fast about what those GIW losers did to him?"

"Okay, okay! You don't have to bite my head off! I'm just trying to be logical about this!"

Feeling uneasy with the teens' arguing, Lancer spoke over them. "Please, stop yelling. We're not helping Danny with the way we're handling things right now."

"I know!" Sam shouted at the high school teacher before slumping against the door. She then lowered her voice as she gave Edward and Tucker an apologetic glance. "I know. I'm sorry for yelling. I...it's just...I can't lose him again...we just got him back."

Tucker stared at the girl forlornly, understanding exactly how she was feeling. He didn't want to lose his best friend either. And for him, it seemed rather unfair that the two of them only got to spend a certain amount of time with Danny before they were all thrust into a ghostly fight. Even now, the trio had to keep on fighting, keep on hoping—all for Danny's sake. Fearing for his friend and for his sanity, Tucker unconsciously slid down the restroom's door to sit down on the ground Indian style.

Mr. Lancer gave Sam and Tucker sad eyes as he watched the twos' expressions morph into hopelessness. It was apparent that the dire situation was taking its toll on all three of them. _There has to be another way to get inside the restroom, _he rationalized mentally. Raising his head upward to stare unblinkingly at the mall's ceiling, a thought occurred to him as he pictured the entity they had just had an encounter with.

"Hey, can you recall how this Skulker ghost came inside of the restroom?" Lancer asked Sam, his eyes peering at the female teen curiously.

The dark haired girl appeared confused for a moment before the question registered in her mind. "He had been hiding in the ventilators," she revealed this information almost eagerly.

"So, all we have to do is find an opening to one of the ventilators, and one of us will go in and find the trail to the restroom," the older man finished, secretly feeling happy that he was able to help in some way.

"That's all well and good, but seriously, who would want to go in through one of those vents? It's probably crawling with germs." Tucker complained with a shiver. Sam and Lancer turned their heads to gaze pointedly at him. "What?" He questioned as they continued to stare at him prior to his eyes widening. "No way! No way am I going to be the one to go inside those vents!"

xxx

"I can't believe I'm the one who has to go inside these vents," Tucker mumbled to himself as he crept on his hands and knees through the metal contraption.

Ironically enough, the interior of the ventilator wasn't as grimy as the bespectacled boy imagined it would be. Still, the clutters of dust crammed in some of the corners were an indecent sight within itself. Tucker had had to hold in several sneezes as he trekked on inside of the enclosed space. Reaching another dead end after a second time, the teen cursed underneath his breath before backtracking and heading in the other direction.

Passing a corner he had come across on the left side of him, Tucker then half way smiled in relief as a bright illumination in the distance uncovered one of the public restroom's stalls. He moved closer to the busted opening of the ventilator, spinning his body around so that his feet would touch the ground first as he exited. Once he circled around to face the whole of the lavatory, Tucker's smile fell right off his face as he took in the wreckage.

Two of the four sinks were utterly destroyed, the porcelain shards shattered in different places throughout the room. Pieces of the lavatory's drywall were strewn near the far barricade. In the middle of the room was the broken blind exterior of the ventilator, beneath it was a puddle of dirty water. The inner side of the door was charred on its lower half, some of its steel seeming to be dissolving in the aftermath.

"Danny," called out Tucker as he sauntered through the restroom, peeking in each stall as he did so. "Are you here? Say something if you're here."

Seeing that Danny was nowhere to be found, Tucker bowed his head in defeat before making his way back to the ventilator. There was no sense in trying to use the steel door since the barrier was more than likely useless. Memorizing the route inside of the vent, the techno geek then sidled to the opposite side. Sam was right beside the breach as he awkwardly departed from the ventilator.

Any hope Sam might've had crashed as she took a good look at the melancholy appearance on Tuck's face. "He's not there anymore," he informed.

With a frustrated cry, the Manson girl kicked the wall she had been standing near before she stalked away in her anger. Lancer, whom had been waiting for the teens a foot away, watched her for a brief second previous to chasing after her. Tucker wasn't too far behind as he called out Sam's name. The two males ceased their pursuit when Sam halted her steps minutes later and sluggishly sat down on a lone wooden bench.

Bringing her hands to her face in her anguish, the black headed girl said in a muffled voice. "We lost him...again."

"You can't keep blaming yourself, Sam," Tucker stated, sitting next to the distraught girl while squeezing her shoulder with his hand in comfort. "It's not your fault. It's _his._"

Staring at the teenagers for a long while, Lancer then came to stand in front of them to ask, "Who is this 'Vlad' person?"

Both Sam and Tucker snapped their heads up to look at the balding man. Edward felt uncomfortable with such looks aimed at him, especially when Sam narrowed her eyes in her usual mistrust. The seconds seemed to tick by leisurely as the trio remained in their forced silence.

Finally, the quiet was disrupted as Sam muttered, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"I would," Lancer insisted, taking a step closer. "I've seen enough to believe anything at this point. I know you don't like me very much, but I want to help Danny as much as you do. He's a good kid, and I believe in _him_. He makes me feel...normal, I guess. I know that sound strange considering his circumstance, but he does. You see, I've never been well received by my colleagues at work. Most of them think I'm nothing more than a bumbling fool. But Danny isn't like that; he treated me as though I mattered. I think I owe him my full support, at the very least."

The two teens gave the man expressions of pure surprise on their countenances. Whatever they had expected him to say obviously hadn't been something that touching and honest. Tucker was the one to take the initiative when Sam still appeared unsure.

"I'm sure you've heard of Vlad Masters, right? The current mayor of Amity Park?"

Lancer's eyes enlarged in slight recognition. "You mean the multimillionaire, the guy who owns those separate companies? What does he have to do with Danny?"

Sam snorted. "He's Danny's godfather."

"So...does that mean he knows about Danny's condition—?"

"Of course, he knows," Sam interrupted, glaring at nothing in particular, "and he has been using this 'condition' to his advantage."

"H-How do you mean?"

"You have to understand, Danny never wanted any of this. He didn't ask to become a half ghost. He didn't ask to become a hero, but Danny's never been the one to turn a blind eye when a person is in need either."

Tucker took over the explanation as the other teen's eyes settled downward. "Danny's parents were friends with Vlad in college. The three of them had constructed a ghost-like portal prototype, a model to otherworldly dimensions."

"Danny told me his parents had been supernatural scientists," the middle aged man injected with a nod.

"Yeah, and just like with Danny, Vlad was accidentally exposed to ectoplasm, causing him to become a half ghost. He blamed Danny's father because the man had spilled soda or something on their device."

_"Y-You're a...ghost...!"_

_"A half ghost." Danny corrected him. "I'm one of the only two in existence."_

"Vlad's the one who's behind all this," Mr. Lancer concluded, having remembered his conversation with Danny mere hours prior.

Sam spoke over Tucker as she said, "Vlad Masters is a sleazy, manipulative creep with half of the world wrapped around his finger."

"He's also a major fruitloop who was unrequitedly in love with Danny's mom," Tucker needlessly pointed out with a disgusted shudder.

"What does he want Danny for, exactly?" asked Edward.

"He used to want Danny as his successor slash son, but now I think it's more than that. I think Vlad wants revenge against Danny for rejecting him so many times," the male teenager explained in aversion.

"And now, because of us, he's gone again," Sam barked, tears outlining her eyes. "We're back to square one while Vlad is out there doing who-knows-what to Danny."

"There has to be another way to help him," Lancer became adamant as he witnessed the defeated look on the others' faces again. "Don't you know anyone who can help us get him back?"

Sam shook her head, yet Tucker's look of despondency changed into consideration. After a long pause, he murmured in uncertainty. "I know of someone who may be of help to us...but I don't think Sam's going to like it..."

* * *

All he could register, all he could even _think _about was the excruciating pain.

Danny let out another scream as bolts of electrical charge circulated throughout his body, his limbs quivering in agony as he remained strapped down on the metal gurney. His vision was blurry and distorted, but there was no doubt in his mind that the agents hovering over him wore looks of sadistic glee. Panting through his mouth, the black haired boy braced himself for more of the intended suffering.

Inwardly, he began to believe that wishing and praying for the torture to stop was becoming less and less of a luxury.


End file.
